Singapore Olympic Foundation to give out up to 300 scholarships this year

The Singapore Olympic Foundation or SOF, is looking to give out 100 to 300 scholarships this year.

The Foundation’s Chairman, Ng Ser Miang, revealed this to MediaCorp in an exclusive interview.

The SOF was set up after the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, to support young sporting talent.

It has received pledges totalling $12 million, with the bulk coming from billionaire, Peter Lim.

SOF Chairman, Ng Ser Miang said a maximum of 800,000 dollars in scholarships will be disbursed each year, over the next ten years.

“We are looking at between $2,000 to $20,000 for very top end. And again will be students or young athletes from primary school, secondary school, tertiary education as well.”

He said the criteria for awarding the scholarships are being fine-tuned in consultation with the National Sports Associations and the Education Ministry.

And the selection process will be done in stages till August this year, right after the school championships, so that more new talent can be spotted.

The Chairman reiterated that the SOF is not duplicating the support given by the Singapore Sports Council or the Olympic Pathway Programme run by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

That’s because the Olympic fund is seeking out young athletes with the potential rather than those with a proven track record and also those who are not under such existing schemes.

Meanwhile the SOF is also looking at raising more funds.

Mr Ng who’s also the Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee, touched on the recent joint bid by ASEAN for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.